


coffee, and what follows

by nereid



Series: Writer's Month August 2019 Prompt Challenge [3]
Category: The Broken Earth Series - N. K. Jemisin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 17:24:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20100898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nereid/pseuds/nereid
Summary: For Writer’s Month August challenge. Prompt 3 - Coffee shop AUThe coffee shop AU that no one asked for - Ykka runs a coffee shop called Castrima, and Essun has her coffee there in the mornings, and sometimes even when it isn't morning.(mentions of Nassun, and background Essun/Lerna)





	coffee, and what follows

Castrima is a coffee shop. It’s not the coffee shop, there are others, as there are always others. But there’s something about it, some measure of quiet perhaps, or something almost quite like peace, that keeps Essun coming back. It’s not always easy to come to Castrima. Most of it is actually underground, and you have to walk down an unstable seeming staircase to get to it, and the single light bulb flashes occasionally, on off, on off. The handrail is flimsy and tricky and there’s a nail sticking out from it somewhere two-thirds on the way down that seems like a safety hazard to Essun, and it probably is. Essun thinks of repairing it sometimes, and has to stop herself and remember this is not her coffee shop. There was a coffee shop that was hers, but it burnt down. She doesn’t need to care for other coffee shops, plus what good would her care to do Castrima, since she couldn’t even manage to take care of her own.

Still, there are reasons to come to Castrima. The coffee is warm, and they will put cinnamon in it if she asks. The food could be better, but it’s cheap, and it’s on Essun’s way to work and back. She works as an electrician now, and the hours are both long and weird, but Castrima is always open. That, Essun guesses, is because of its owner. Ykka, what a weird name to be given, looks about Essun’s age, only her hair has more gray in it. She smiles only to new customers, which is because the old ones already know her. Essun has come to Castrima long enough to figure this out, which also means she hasn’t been on the receiving end of Ykka’s smiles for a while now.

This morning, Essun finds enough time in her schedule to grab a cup of coffee before work. She has this feeling that it’s going to be an extra long work day today, and she needs all the help she can get.

When she comes in, the door is squeaking again, there are a few customers, some familiar faces, and Ykka is wiping the counter. Two of the customers, two girls in their 20’s, are obviously nursing hangovers. Essun wishes sometimes she was that young again, and to have hangovers and to worry about dating and fashion, which she imagines are what 20-somethings worry about, and not to worry about bills, and Nassun having problems in school, and her back aching. She does worry about romance a bit. She’s been avoiding Lerna again, she knows. She shouldn’t do it, or at least should tell him she’s doing it when she plans to do it. He’s nice, and probably doesn’t deserve it. But you also didn’t deserve many things, she thinks to herself. But that’s also no reason to create problems for others. Your bad luck (or bad life decisions) have nothing to do with that. She might call Lerna. Today, after work, yes.

“The usual?”

Ykka, asks, of course, without a smile. This is good, because then Essun doesn’t have to feel bad about not smiling in response. She nods, and grabs her phone from her bag. It’s more of a sack, really, than a bag, and would probably be deemed inappropriate by Cosmopolitan or something like that, for a woman of her ripe age of 42. Probably many aspects of her appearance would be deemed inappropriate by Cosmo and the like. Finding a concealer for her ocher brown skin, well, there are easier tasks. Mostly, though, she doesn’t bother with concealer even when she has it. Sometimes she gets up too late for it, or to be more precise, she is not ready to sacrifice her trip to Castrima for it. She doesn’t remember when she last put on lipstick. She likes her hair though, locks and all. Messy, perhaps, but alive, almost with a life of their own. Messy, but hers, like her life, her apartment, her concealer-less face and Nassun. There is not much else that is hers, but some things and people are. Lerna, even, perhaps, is hers, though this has never been said out loud. She’s sure she has no right to him, and not sure she would want the right, even if she had it. Better not to assume more responsibility than she can handle, and these days, she errs on the side of caution as far as her limits are concerned. 

Her mind runs through all of this even before caffeine, which is a scary enough thought to deter others. Ykka’s finished Essun’s coffee during this unfortunate train of thought and now she’s pouring hot milk into the coffee. There are some laminated papers next to the cash register, where Ykka is now inputting Essun’s coffee. She walks back to the place at the counter where Essun’s sitting, coffee in one hand and bill in the other. Essun immediately pays and leaves a tip. She knows what will happen, and it does, without error, Ykka puts the tip into the tip jar. Ykka never takes her tips, leaves them instead for other the other two employees. Essun doesn’t know their names, but she likes them well enough, meaning mostly that they do not disturb her in any way. Essun’s coffee is too hot to drink immediately, it’ll have to wait a minute or two, so Essun’s gaze follows Ykka back to the laminated papers. Ykka, whose peripheral vision obviously functions just fine, manages to see where Essun’s looking, so she takes the papers back to Essun, and Essun can examine them now. They’re laminated instructions for toilet use, instructing, in more polite and less direct, but equally clear words, to leave transgender and genderqueer people the fuck alone, thank you very much, and let everyone use whatever bathroom they want.

“I suppose it would be better if there was also a unisex bathroom, but I can’t consider rennovating to such an extent at the moment. What do you think?”

The question is obviously directed at Essun. Essun thinks for a moment, and then says - 

“Are you sure you’re not gonna get in trouble with that?”

Ykka, also thinking, but a sparkle of something in her eyes, something not entirely innocent, speaks a moment later.

“If it happens, I’ll handle it. Some things are worth the trouble.”


End file.
